Mayoral Candidate Wins Challenge To His Petitions

Elgin — A candidate for mayor in Elgin has withstood a challenge to his petitions and will remain on the ballot.

The Elgin electoral board ruled last week that Robert L. Soderstrom, 71, had a sufficient number of signatures to remain on the ballot.

The board, which consisted of current Mayor George Van De Voorde, Councilman Robert Gilliam, and City Clerk Loni Mecum, ruled that 16 of the 85 signatures collected by Soderstrom were invalid; 18 other challenged signatures were ruled valid. The board deliberated the matter on Wednesday at the Kane County Judicial Center in Geneva.

The 34 signatures were challenged by Edward R. Southwell, a Republican committeeman. Southwell claimed that some of the signatures were invalid because those who signed had failed to include apartment numbers in their addresses. The board ruled that this did not invalidate the signatures.

Other complaints were that some people printed rather than wrote their names, but these signatures were also upheld.

Soderstrom was left with 69 signatures, which gave him three or four more than were needed to remain on the ballot.